Particle Placement

Level 3

Danish typically uses a Verb + Object + Particle word order. While English is flexible, Danish requires the particle to follow unstressed pronouns and standard noun objects.

How It Works

In Danish, phrasal verbs consist of a verb and a particle. To become proficient in their use, you must follow specific placement and stress rules.

1. The Basic Rule
The particle standardly follows the object. This is mandatory for unstressed pronouns:

  • Jeg tager jakken på. (I put the jacket on.)
  • Jeg tager den på. (I put it on.)

2. Stress Patterns
In these constructions, the particle carries the stress, while the verb itself becomes unstressed. This helps distinguish a particle from a preposition. For example, in Han kører hunden over (He runs the dog over), 'over' is a stressed particle. In Han kører over broen (He drives over the bridge), 'over' is an unstressed preposition.

3. With Modal Verbs
When using a modal verb, the main verb moves to the end of the clause in its infinitive form, but the particle still follows the object:

  • Jeg vil tage jakken på. (I want to put the jacket on.)

4. Subordinate Clauses
In subordinate clauses, the sentence adverb ikke moves before the verb. However, the particle's position relative to the object remains the same:

  • ... fordi jeg ikke tog jakken på. (... because I didn't put the jacket on.)

5. Heavy Objects
While the particle usually follows the object, it can sometimes precede a 'heavy' or long noun phrase for better flow: Han smed ud alle de gamle aviser, han havde gemt. (He threw out all the old newspapers he had saved).

6. Comparison with English
English allows 'Pick up the phone' or 'Pick the phone up.' In standard Danish, you should stick to Tag telefonen op. Placing the particle before a simple object (Tag op telefonen) is generally considered incorrect.

Examples (5)

  1. Kan du lukke vinduet op?

    Can you open the window?

    Word by Word: Can you close the-window up?

    The particle 'op' follows the noun object 'vinduet'.

  2. Jeg smider det ud i morgen.

    I'll throw it out tomorrow.

    Word by Word: I throw it out in tomorrow.

    With an unstressed pronoun like 'det', the particle 'ud' must come after it.

  3. Han tog skoene af.

    He took the shoes off.

    Word by Word: He took shoes-the off.

    The particle 'af' follows the object 'skoene'.

  4. Husk at lukke døren i.

    Remember to shut the door.

    Word by Word: Remember to close the-door in.

    The particle 'i' follows the noun object 'døren'.

  5. Jeg skriver det ned nu.

    I am writing it down now.

    Word by Word: I write it down now.

    The particle 'ned' follows the pronoun 'det'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using English word order by placing the particle before a noun.

    Jeg slår op ordet.
    Jeg slår ordet op.

    In Danish, the particle 'op' must follow the object 'ordet'. The incorrect version sounds like you are 'hitting up' the word in a literal sense.

  • Placing the particle before a pronoun object.

    Jeg tager på den.
    Jeg tager den på.

    'Jeg tager på den' actually means 'I am touching it' or 'I am feeling it'. To say 'I am putting it on', the particle 'på' must follow 'den'.

How It Connects

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Particle PlacementLevel 3

Learn This First

To learn particle placement, you need to understand how Danish phrasal verbs work and be familiar with object pronouns, as the position of the particle (like 'ud', 'hjem', or 'på') depends on whether the object is a full noun or a pronoun.

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Patterns that build on this one.